Two gay men who escaped Syria and Iraq with their lives shared their experiences of discrimination and violence against LGBT people at a historic session of the UN Security Council in New York City on August 24. Subhi Nahas, a Syrian refugee living in the United States, addressed the council in person.

The trend of church workers losing their jobs in LGBT-related employment disputes is not slowing, but thankfully community responses and legal improvements are pushing back. Below, I offer updates on two previous incidents, including the implementation of a German bishops’ employment policy more welcoming of LGBT church workers.

“But when did you feel heard by the majority?” pleaded a Cuban and would-be LGBT activist, unknowingly socking me in the gut with a question for which my talking points would fall short in a room full of eager Cuban citizens, watchful Cuban government officials, and gay American singers visiting Havana.

In just a few days, Irish voters will decide on approving marriage equality in one of the world’s most historically Catholic nations. If approved, this will be the first popular vote to legalize same-gender marriages in the world.

President Obama and Cuban leader, Raul Castro, made history in April of 2015 with a handshake. On April 28, leaders of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) will make history by traveling to Cuba at the invitation of leaders of the Baptist LGBTQ group, Abriendo Brechas de Colores, from the Federación de Iglesias Bastistas de Cuba.